The BJP's Mission South is quite a serious one. And they are attempting a big push in God's Own Country Kerala too, where Narendra Modi has made many visits including one on Monday.
The Prime Minister spoke from Thrissur which he addressed as Vadakkumnathan's land in his speech made while in the company of BJP Thrissur candidate Suresh Gopi on stage.
But what more do Suresh Gopi and his fellow party mates need to win significant vote shares and seats in Kerala?
The BJP state president K Surendran had an answer when it came to the missing ingredient during an interaction with The New New Indian Express in November 2022 and it is revelatory.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Surendran is pitted against Rahul Gandhi and Annie Raja of the CPI from the high-profile Wayanad seat.
Five years ago, he had fought from Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. It was while dissecting his defeat in the 2019 election that Surendran said what no other BJP state president might ever say.
"We were unable to reach out to the minority voters effectively during the election in Pathanamthitta," he admitted.
"In the 2014 election, we only polled 1 lakh thirty five thousand votes, which increased to almost 3 lakhs (when I fought the election). If we had been able to gain just 10% of the Christian votes, we could have won that election. However, circumstances at the time led the entire minority community to support the UDF. Additionally, a significant number of majority voters, determined to defeat Pinarayi Vijayan over the Sabarimala issue (the entry of women into the temple), also supported the UDF," Surendran said.
"This remains a challenge for us (in such contests). We need to build our reach among the minorities. Or else there has to be a strong polarisation along religious lines. But then Kerala is not a state where relgious polarisation is easily possible. When I contested in Pathanamthitta, we were not able to penetrate into even 10 percent of the Christian votes. The challenge before us then is to make serious efforts to get a sizeable number of minority votes," he went on to add.
In the Pathanamitta Lok Sabha battle, Surendran was pitted against sitting MP Anto Antony of the Congress and the CPM's Veena George, now the Kerala Health Minister.
Surendran won 29% of the vote share clinching 297396 votes but ended up third behind Veena George and the winner Anto Antony.
Veena George won 336684 votes and a 32.8% share while Anto Antony won 380927 votes and a 37.1% vote share.
Christians account for about 35% of Pathanamthitta's population and Muslims 7%.
Kerala also has a high 45% minority vote with Muslims accounting for 26.6% of the population and Christians 18.4%.